Seduction at MidTempo
by Plex-N-Ryoa
Summary: Andrea met Adam and her world was turned upsidedown. Terrible summary, just please R and R...No authors notes until final chapter, which is going to be ALL author note. Finished, but being beta ed for the first time EVER.
1. Chapter 1

'_Ah, smell that wonderful combination of wood, grass, and sweat…I'm home. Well, better get to making the big welcome speech and whatnot….'_

"People! I demand attention! Ok! now, you can call me Andy. Hey now! Don't look so surprised, its short for Andrea. Yeah, so I'm your drum captain this year. We're going to work hard, but don't be scared… unless you can't walk in a straight line. Then you're screwed. And that's then end of my OFFICIAL drum captain speech. If you want more, you can follow me around after line. I might buy the newbies food or something."

Andy grinned and stepped down from the director's podium. It looks like she had broken the ice with her speech, which is what her point had been. She walked over to her spot between her friends Danni and Becky and looked back up to the podium, where Mr. B was trying to get everyone's attention. Once he managed to capture it, began speaking.

"Okay, everyone, we have a new drum tech this year, since Mr. Swanson decided to leave us. So, without further ado, here's Adam." A slim, broad-shouldered guy climbed up on the podium and looked around confidently.

"I'm Adam, your new drum tech, as Mr. B said already. Now, I could never beat that amazing speech by your…lovely drum captain, but I'll try. You…ALL…will be going traditional this year. ALL OF YOU! That means work, and lots of it. But you guys'll do fine. I believe in you" He turned his icy blue eyes to Andy as he made his way down from the podium.

After all the speech had been made, the line was called to the wooden practice boards to warm up. As Andy stood up, she noticed Adam watching her out of the corner of her eye.

More specifically, she noticed him staring at her chest.

'_Oh god…' _she turned and gave a grin to her friend Becky as she walked over to stand next to her. She pulled her sticks out of her back pocket and started warming up with the rest of her people. She felt someone slide in next to her on the board and start talking to her.

"So…Andy, was it?"

"Yeah."

"You're drum captain then?"

"Yeah. Center snare for two years too."

"So you can play traditional then?"

"Nope-I've been matched for nine years"

"I'll teach you then. You free after line?" Andy gave him a sidelong glance. He was hot. Very much so, but probably conceited as all hell.

"I'm free after I take the newbies out for dinner; tag along if you want to take me anywhere."

"Right. Do you have to worry about your parents freaking if you're home late?"

"ParenT, and no, I don't. My dad works night shift."

"Right… so, after line everyday then?"

"Only today, here at school, unless I'm horribly retarded and need extra help." Andy glanced over at him again, and saw that his eyes had traveled south again. She rolled her eyes, and counted off as the next warm-up started.

This was going to be a long, long six weeks.

llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll

Andy jingled her keys in front of the seven new freshmen, and three other people - her friends Danni and Becky, and, of course, The Staring Wonder.

The _gorgeous_ Staring Wonder, whom she was starting to have interesting thoughts about.

"Halloo! I'm up here, morons" She waved her hand in front of her chest, which was being ogled rather noticeably by every male in the vicinity. "Yeah, I have room for…six in the cab, which means that, what, four of you? Yeah, four of you will have to ride in the back. It's big."

Becky and Danni both waved their hands in the air to ride in the back, which they knew was furnished with an air mattress. They grabbed two freshmen to go with them, and they all went out to Andy's pickup. Adam whistled appreciatively.

"Niiiice. But how are we going to fit six people in the cab?"

"You ride shotgun. Okay, four of you newbies-one, two, three, four. You guys are skinny. You all squeeze in inside that back seat. And you, tiny one, you climb on top of them and lay down." The tiny one looked at Andy with a 'you have GOT to be kidding' look. Andy stared right back. "Don't look at me like that, I'm serious. Back in my day we did this all the time. Besides, you'll have to squeeze with them on a bus eventually anyways, so get over yourself."

She then climbed into the driver seat and drove them to the nearest McDonalds. When the got there, she climbed out and heard a faint voice from the back seat saying,

"Andy? …How do we get out?"

Andy sighed.

She ripped open the door, and caught the girl that fell out. "That's how. Now, don't break the bank. You each get one thing"

She watched them all run towards the entrance, and then felt a set of hands on her shoulders, massaging.

"You look tense. You ARE tense. Your shoulders are like rocks…" Adam said softly into her ear.

"Well, that's what I get for bringing my drum home every day of section leader camp," Andy replied, relaxing into Adam's ridiculously skilled hands.

"Wow, I thought I was the only one who did that… Am I doing a good job?"

"Mmmm…yeah," she answered, though it came out as more of a moan than she'd meant it to. "You need to be a little more aggressive though. You're being too gentle." She gave him a mischievous grin and then pulled away. "We'd better get inside before they order everything on the menu."

Adam looked slightly disappointed as she turned around and called to him, "If you don't hurry, you won't get any food!" Despite himself, Adam grinned and jogged to catch up to the food-driven wonder in front of him.


	2. Chapter 2

"So, how old are you, anyways?" Adam asked as he set up everything needed to teach Andy Traditional.

"Seventeen. I'll be eighteen at the end of band camp though. And you?"

"Me? I'm nineteen. Just out of high school in the next town over."

"Nice. And I'm assuming you have a girlfriend?"

"Nah, I'm a single guy. No girls ever look at me." Andy scoffed and started playing again.

"Oh, suuuure. Maybe that's because you're too busy checking them out to notice they're ogling you."

"And what do you mean by that?" Adam looked up from her hands in mock anger. Andy was in Adam's apartment sitting at a table made out of a rubbery material that bounced perfectly. She was actually catching onto traditional rather quickly, but wasn't really getting too far due to their habit of stopping to talk.

"Oh, I just mean that you need to pull your eyes up to a girl's face every now and then, jerk face," She grabbed his chin and forced Adam's gaze higher, which had been drifting downwards again.

"Sorry," he muttered, not sorry in the least. Especially since the object of his gawking was now attached to his chin by her feminine, if calloused, hand. "Your thumb is in the wrong place again."

"Well, fix it then. You know I have no clue what I'm doing" Adam came over to her side of the table and reached around her shoulders, pressing his chest against her back. A very firm, muscular chest if Andy did say so herself. Gently, Adam fixed her thumb position and then pulled a roll of Scotch tape out of his back pocket.

"We're going to tape your fingers together in the right position every night for the rest of this week"

"Bleagh!" Andy cried, staring at him in horror.

"Hush now or I'll tape everything else to this chair"

"Goddamn system." Andy muttered as she sportingly let her fingers be taped. "Now, oh Great Adam-sensei, teach me more." She focused back on the table and started practicing with a renewed vigor that made Adam reel, especially since "watching her hands" was a viable excuse to stare at her chest.

llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll

The next day at Line, they got their cadences.

"OH MY GOD! We've resurrected Blackout!" Yelled Andy, who had heard this cadence performed her eighth grade year. She put the packet down on the floor and did the god-worshipping bow, which made her shirt fall down dangerously low. "Oops…." She stood up and pulled the front of her shirt back up before addressing the line. "Soooo….snare hopefuls come with me and Adam, since you'll have to audition traditional. Bass hopefuls stay here with Mr. B. And Tenor hopefuls…are there any? Two of you? Okay, you go with Tony. Yeah, he's the guy with the glasses over in the corner. YO! TONY BABY! GET THOSE HEADPHONES OFF AND MAKE THESE KIDS GOOD AT TENORS, YOU MORON!" She shook herself a bit, and then grinned. "He may be in college now, but he'll always be my moronic drum captain from Frosh year….so, come on, we've got nice drum pads for ya'll"

In the back hallway, there were three tables set up with drum pads lining the top, and Andy and Adam started teaching the newbies the cadence, measure by measure.

"One!-and-a-two!-and-a-three-e!-a-four!-e-and-a" Ah, the chorus of drummers…Andy surveyed the prospects, noticing a boy with huge, dark brown eyes who seemed to be picking it up well. That was promising. She walked up to him and asked, "Hey kid, what's your name?" He gawked up at her for a second before saying "I'm Shashvat. Everyone calls me Sushi though."

"Kay, then, Sushi, try out for snare. I want you." She grinned, and then realized what she had said. "OH SHIT! No, not like that! Everyone knows I'm going to be a nun! Right, Adam?"

"Sure, sexy. Whatever you say," Adam replied, chuckling a little.

"Aren't you supposed to be my teacher? You know, aloof and priggish?" Andy asked.

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Andy shot him a mini Look and turned back to Sushi.

"Anyways Sushi, you'll make it, trust me. Freshmen do have a chance to be on drums their first year if they're good enough, the rest of you too. Try out even of you think you suck, because my little buddy Becky-chan over there beat a junior out of her spot at auditions her freshman year, and she thought she sucked and no one on the entire line could convince her otherwise. Poor Kirstie… although, I don't know WHY I'm saying poor Kirstie, because she made tenor that year instead. So anyways – onto the next measure. One-and-a-two-e-a-e-a-four-and-a one. Got it? Alright. You guys go now, practice, and don't forget that five stroke on the 'and-a' in the last part."

About half an hour later, they were called back into the band room for announcements. Mr. B hushed them all, and then climbed up on the podium.

"It's been a great first day of Line, and you can the drums home, but first you need to sign them out with Andrea. Adam, you help her." Sushi took out a snare, as did four other freshmen, and Becky did also. Then Andy went off into the practice room with Adam to begin her second Traditional lesson.

"You'd better keep your eyes where they're supposed to be tonight, Adam"

"You have my word" Adam said, bowing extravagantly.

"Mhmm… suuuure…" Andy walked into the practice room, and Adam followed, only staring at her ass a little.


	3. Chapter 3

"Your thumb is in the wrong place again"

"Well, I can't really do anything, since you TAPED MY FREAKING HANDS THAT WAY!"

"I taped it in the right place, but you've somehow moved it back to wrong, transcending the limits of tapedom"

"That makes no sense" Andy stood up and stretched her arms above her head, trying to flex her taped fingers, since she hadn't moved them out of position since two hours ago. "I should probably get going home. After all, dad always calls me to tell me to go to bed around midnight. Now, help me get this tape off." She futilely scratched at her taped fingers, and then held her hands out pitifully. "Pweeze?"

"You're terrible. Come here." Andy squatted down, resting her hands on his knees, accidentally pressing her chest up against his legs. He gently took her hands and peeled off the tape. "Oh my god, you're hands are purple! Are you okay?" Slowly he rubbed her hands between his until they had gone back to their normal color. He also realized that under his hand massage, she had fallen asleep leaning against his legs, her dark, wavy, brown hair spread like a halo over his lap. "Damn-I don't know where she lives!"

Andy woke up when the phone rang. Why was she still in her clothes?

"He-hello?"

"Hi honey, did I wake you up?"

"Only a little bit, Daddy"

"Sorry-I was just checking you were home. Go back to sleep now Pumpkin"

"Love you Daddy."

-Click-

She walked back into her room and changed into her pajamas, which basically consisted of a huge football jersey she has stolen from her ex-boyfriend and her underwear. As soon as she had let her hair out of its ponytail, the doorbell rang. She ran downstairs and opened the storm door, peeking out into the night.

"Adam? What are you doing here?"

"I was just checking that I got you to the right house and also bringing your car back, since I brought you home in mine"

"OH MY GOD! I'd come out and hug you, but I'm not wearing pants"

"Really now? I'll still take that hug"

"You're a perv…go home. I'll see you at Line tomorrow." She shut the door, and grinned, leaning against it. She hadn't been wearing a bra either.

_Dear Diary, _

_I have this super weird feeling in my stomach whenever I see Adam. What is it?... _

It was the end of audition day, a week after the "Adam incident" as she had come to call it. She was waiting out in the band hallway with a circle of freshmen at her feet.

"Guys, chill. If you don't make a drum, it's not the end of the world. Pit is awesome, right Danni?"

"Damn Straight, Snare Pimp"

"Heh, sorry, inside joke…anyways…and plus, if you make pit you don't have to march formations. But you should get used to having to come early to everything. Yes, even battery people…it's a half hour early for everything, and if you're not there, you get horsewhipped" Andy paused here to look at their faces after this statement. "You know I'm kidding, right?"

Suddenly, the door opened and Mr. B put out the spot list.

_Snare: Andrea, Becky, Shashvat, Laura, Rich_

_Bass: Danielle, Heidi, Melissa, Jordan, Chris _

_Tenors: Kirstie, Dan, John _

"Awesome job Chris! You made 5! And that Sushi kid! Where's Sushi!" Shashvat gave a wave from a corner, where he was ambushed by Andy and Becky. "Good job Kid…now you have to go get a drum."

Oh dear, Adam was doing harness adjustments. Andy walked up with her drum harness, holding it out. "It's too high"

"Put it on then, you know the drill." Adam took out his drum key and leaned over her, his eyes staring straight at what he was doing.

Until she shifted her hips and the drum key slipped out of his hands. He bent down to pick it up off the ground, and glanced up. She wasn't wearing a bra.

Nobraon…nobraon…nobraon…The gentle curves of her chest were visible from down here, compressed against her chest by her drum. He stood up abruptly, his face flaming.

He leaned in to press the harness down some, and he heard Andy whisper in his ear.

"You noticed, didn't you, Adam. Did you like what you saw?" He finished tightening the screws on her harness then called out, "Break for ten minutes, everyone!" and then he ran off towards the bathroom. Shashvat looked at Andy, who had a satisfied smile on her face.

"I didn't get my harness adjusted, where did he go?"

"He just has some adjusting to do himself, Sushi"


	4. Chapter 4

"Why do we always have to tape my hands?"

"Because you suck at life"

"Real nice, prick"

"Oh, so now I'm a prick. Bitch"

"Likewise!" Andy turned and threw her sticks at the wall, then stomping out of their practice room and into another. Adam sighed, already feeling bad for what he had said, so he stood up and went after her. He looked in every practice room, finally finding her in the last one, curled up in a shaking ball.

"Andy…"

"Go…away…"

"No" He knelt next to her and put his hands on her quivering shoulders, rubbing them slowly until her sobs stopped. She rolled over and looked into his icy blue eyes with her own deep brown ones.

"You…don't understand what I feel. Whenever I see you, I get this funny feeling in my stomach, and it makes me want you, even if you are my teacher. But when I try to get you, you call me a bitch. My first impression of you was right. You're conceited. And…"

Her voice was muffled into Adam's chest. She wrapped her legs around his waist as she felt his mouth kissing gentle patterns on her collarbone, moving slowly up to her neck to her ear, where he whispered, "You're right. I am a prick. But, contrary to popular belief, I do understand, because I feel the same thing when I look at you, Andy." Then he dove into her lips, because, even if he was her teacher, he couldn't hold back anymore. Those soft lips he had admired from the moment he had seen them move in the words of her speech, they would be his now. Needless to say, they didn't get much traditional training done that evening.

"YOU DIDN'T!"

Andy was surrounded by her three best friends from line in their practice room where they ate before every football game. Their first football game was in an hour, and she had just told them that she had made out with their uber-hot drum techie.

"Yes, yes I did…" Becky looked concerned, Danni looked amazed, and Missy just looked plain pissed off. As usual, Missy was the first to speak.

"That guy is a jerk-off. He couldn't possibly really be interested in anything but getting into your pants." Becky nodded in agreement, and then added, "You'll get your heart broken, Andy. He's gonna leave you hanging after he gets laid, and you'll be alone again." Then Danni burst in.

"You guys, leave her alone. I speak for all of us when I say that I want to get into his pants, and if Andy just happens to be the first to do it, then we should leave her be. If she gets her heart broken, I for one will be there to pick up the pieces and help her through, not telling her that I said so." Andy's eyes filled up with tears, and she gave all of them a huge hug.

"I love you guys…"

As they walked off the field after pre-game, Andy felt a pair of eyes watching her, but couldn't pick the person out of the crowd. Adam gave everyone the look that said "Line pow-wow" and they all gathered upon the side of the bleachers.

"Hey, everyone, that was awesome, so I'm going to start a new tradition. After every pre-game, I'm either going to give you a hug or a handshake, depending on your gender and or personal preference." He then pointed to two spots, saying "Hugs here, Handshakes here. Now go, you ruffians!"

All the guys went into the handshake line, and a few of the girls did too, but Andy went straight to the hug line, grinning as she stuck her arms out above her drum in a hugging motion.

"Whaaaat? No drum hugs for Adam-sensei?" Andy gave a smart-ass grin and took her drum off. One huge hug and a subtle grope later, Andy headed up to the bleachers, where she spent the rest of the game feeling uncomfortable, because she could swear that she was being stared at.

"Your thumb is in the wrong place…-giggle-."

"Tell me where it should go, Andy-sensei"

"Right here, silly…mmm… I always knew you were good at massages, but I didn't expect this amount of skill."

"Aren't we supposed to be practicing your traditional technique?"

"You know I'm perfect at it…ooh, that's nice…and plus, you know that you like this more"

"Okay, if you can play the entire cadence cycle traditional without any mistakes, I'll keep giving you massages" Andy pulled her sticks out from her back pocket, while Adam tied up her halter again. She proceeded to do exactly what he said, plus about five new visuals.

"Very good, Andy! Who thought you would completely master that in less than seven weeks!" He grabbed her and hugged her again. She clasped herself to his chest and slowly guided his hands up to the ties on her halter top. There was a clatter as her drumsticks fell to the floor. She leaned back, staring at the ceiling with half-lidded eyes, managing to whisper out one phrase before she was rendered speechless.

"I think I need…extra lessons Adam…"


	5. Chapter 5

She drove home that evening around eleven. There were virtually no cars out, so she turned on her light and looked at a place on her neck that was still burning.

"Ouch, a hickey….eew…"

"Eew is right, Andrea…" Andy felt a hand on her neck and she turned around to see the face of her ex. "You know, all of a sudden you're the hottest bitch on the block, when you were nothing but prude for me. What does that scrawny college boy have that I don't, other then a drum?" Andy slapped his hand and glared at him.

"How about some class, you prick. Now get away from me. After all, you have your cheerleader whore to get home to. She probably wants those diapers right away."

"No, we're going back to your place." He grabbed her shoulders and pushed. "Drive, bitch"

Adam saw Andy's car parked at the intersection about a block away from the school with her car light on. Was that another guy in the car? He peered at the slice of her face he could see in her rearview mirror, and he saw the purest form of terror filling her eyes. He slammed on the brakes and tiptoed towards her truck as he saw the man in the back seat of her cab lean back again. He ran up to the truck and ripped the front door open, grabbing Andy out of the front seat, hearing the man inside shriek,

"You ass! She's mine and she always has been! No PISS-ass, mother-FUCKING, college DICKHEAD is going to steal her from me!"

"Watch me." Adam kicked the dude in the nuts and grabbed Andy.

"Are you okay!" Andy nodded, and then passed out in Adam's arms as her ex ran around the corner and started up his motorcycle, riding it off into the now chilly evening.

Several games later, Andy turned eighteen.

The line went nuts.

"Oh my god! Becky! Danni! I said no balloons!"

"Tough shit, babe. You're going to take these twelve balloons, and you're going to like it!"

"You're really scary, you know that right?"

"Yep" Andy looked around for Adam, but he was nowhere to be seen. She grinned at Becky, accepting the balloons, and then walking out into the hallway. At the end, she stopped to catch her breath a bit, and was surprised to see Sushi walking up the hallway towards her.

"Andy?"

"Yeah, Sushi?"

"I have a question, kind of"

"That's nice. Keep staring at my chest and it might do a trick"

"Er…sorry. It's at eye level. I'm short"

"I'm aware of that. Tilt your head up. Now spill your question or I might get bored"

"Okay, so you've been so nice to me through all of drumline…"

Andy saw Adam stop with an amused look just outside the band room door. He smiled at her.

"…lunch with me?"

"Wait, WHAT?" Sushi turned as red as his skin would allow and looked down at the floor embarrassedly. Adam's mouth opened in disbelief.

"Have lunch with me. And maybe homecoming?" Andy just stared at the short Indian boy in front of her. In the background, unnoticed, Adam's hands tightened slowly into fists and his once open mouth drew into a thin line, his eyes flashing blue lightning.

"No, I'm sorry Sushi. That would be too weird" The dark eyes of the boy flickered and he slowly walked into the band room for the practice that was starting soon. Andy watched Adam follow him in, with a gait like a marionette whose strings had been wound too tight. Then she followed both through the double doors, getting confused looks from her friends, who had noticed Adam's change from his normal laid-back self. She looked back with the same light in her eyes and shrugged helplessly as she went up to her drum.

"Warmups everyone!"

Adam started clapping out a tempo and they played eights. Andy was worried, because the look in Adam's eyes was like that of some sort of predator when they landed on Sushi.

"We're doing outdoor practice today everyone. Get your butts out to the back lot." Andy slowly followed Adam out to the lot that had the grassy knoll next to it. They did standard parade marching, and everything was going well until Sushi got out of step, and the predatory flicker in Adam's blue eyes burst into flame.

"Shashvat! Grassy knoll, now! Spike the hill until I tell you you're done." Silent gasps came from the rest of the drum line who were standing behind Adam. They hadn't had to do spiking since…Chewy! Andy glared hard into Adam's back, biting out,

"Adam…can I TALK to you?" Adam turned around, the evil glint falling out of his eyes as he saw the storm building in Andy's face. Then he looked around at the rest of the line's faces, realizing that he had just done something really, really stupid.

Andy turned and yelled at Sushi. "Soosh! stop, right now and go sit down on the curb. All of the rest of you take care of him. Adam…you're coming with me." She dropped her drum and harness on the asphalt by her friends and the almost-crying Sushi, and then stalked off to the far corner of the lot, Adam following rather reluctantly.

"What the hell was that?" Adam cringed at the tone in her voice. It was scary.

"I…just…lost it?"

"Sure. You were being a jealous prick"

"NO!"

"If you're going to start lying to me, I'll have to report your little fiascos in the practice rooms. Starting when I was still seventeen."

"Okay, so I saw him hitting on you in the hallway, and I got insanely jealous. I couldn't help myself"

"Well, get over it, and quick. I'm going to know other guys. They are going to ask me out. I WILL SAY NO! Because I love you, but I won't be for long if you keep doing stuff like this! Now you go APOLOGIZE!"

"Oh…kay…"

"GO!" Adam walked as normally as he could back to where the rest of the line was, considering that his subordinate had just told him off, and scared the crap out of him in the process. He could sense an aura of humor coming from the group of students as he apologized to Sushi with downcast eyes. Andy walked back with a slightly evil smile on her face.

"Oh, Adam, that's so nice of you! Now, let's get back to marching practice." Andy turned around, grinning. Chris walked up to Adam and patted him on the back in a brotherly way.

"Was that you're first experience with Andy the tornado? It's one of the reasons Mr. B gave her the drum captain spot, instead of Kirstie. Not only is she a goddess on the drums, she scares that shit out of all of us, while still being one of our best friends. How bad was it?"

"Give me parameters"

"Erm...scale of one, being "Stop staring at my chest" to ten, "Stab you with a sharp rock"

"Seven"

"Dear god. Usually numbers six thru ten are saved for people she's going out with. You're not...?" Adam broke out in a coughing fit, managing to choke out a 'No' before Andy looked over at Chris.

"Yo, K, we kind of need a bass five. Get your overly-built ass over here."

Chris just slapped Adam on the back again and called out to Andy.

"Oh course, honey"

"Oh, shut up Chris"


	6. Chapter 6

The band's first parade competition was today. For the weeks leading up to it, they had been worked almost to death.

They had marched.

They had played.

They had busted the hell out of their chops.

And now they were on a temperamental old school bus, graffitied with the haterd of sharpie-equipped rebels, on their way to becoming champions.

"So, who was your first, Andy?

"His name was Antonio. Dark, handsome, and not lacking where it mattered." Andy gave a smart-ass grin, and noticing the incredulous looks on the faces of those around her, she continued. "I suppose that you're going to be needing the where and when, then. Let me set the scene. I was sixteen, I was in a bikini, and I was at one of those indoor water parks in the Dells. Wisconsin Dells. So as I was wandering around the park for about seven hours, I ran into one of the lifeguards about twenty times. Enter Antonio. So after him giving me flirty smiles, and a few hand touches as he helped me out of the water at the end of the slides, I decided to strike up a conversation with him. And I guess he really liked me, because at the end of his shift, there we were in a changing room in the lifeguard locker room, and…well…" She grinned again, and then shot the question right back at Chris.

"Junior prom, my date"

"Oh, come on, we need a name!"

"Ashley Freeland"

"OH…MY…GOD…That sucks!"

"Actually, she didn't"

"Oh-hhhhhhhh!"

"So, speaking of bass drums…"

"Wait, what the hell Becky!"

"Sorry"

"No, just keep going"

"I forgot what I was talking about now."

"What are you ON?"

"Drugs and Vodka" Andy laughed and dug into her bag, flashing them a bottle of amber liquid.

"Speaking of vodka, or tequila more so, this section of the bus had been declared strictly BYOB for the ride home."

"I've got lime"

"Yussssss….!"

"And I have a portable stereo!"

"Double yussssss…!"

llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll

Andy played absentmindedly with her plume as she began to formulate her pre-performance speech, the one that was supposed to pump the drum line up, delaying the nervousness that was bound to build up eventually. But looking around at the stoic faces of her eighteen closest comrades, she knew it wasn't needed. So she wen't slowly down the line, locking eyes and hands with each and every one of them.

"You ALL, every one of you, know why we're here. We're here to do what we do every day. We're here to play, to march, to live. Whether we win or we lose, I believe in every one of you with all my heart. Now go, and remember. What we need isn't talent, it isn't skill, its heart. And that…THAT is the one thing you all have in excess. Believe in that heart and we will win. Because if you didn't believe in it, and if I didn't believe in it, you wouldn't be here."

Then Andy slowly put her hat on and looked straight forward at the drum major from her spot in the middle of the band. It was time.

llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll

"Okay, I'm making one more food run, who wants pizza? One…only one of you? Come on, I'm not almost-missing the awards ceremony for one piece of pizza, Kirst."

"I'm not really hungry anyways" Andy rolled her eyes and sat back down, hugging her new festival t-shirt to her chest. Danni, who was clutching Andy's arm due to an intense fear of heights, whispered in Andy's ear.

"Andy, why isn't adam here again?"

"I don't know, he said something about a wedding or a funeral, or something like that."

"Seems kind of odd since he seems to be going everywhere with us lately. Especially since every second he's with the line is a second with you."

"Danni, you know that it can't get out, about me and him. Right now, we can't be involved as such. After we graduate, well…we'll have to see."

Suddenly a buzzer sounded, and high in the stands of Memorial, the entire band went silent, and then burst back into sound."

"CLASS AAA PARADE MARCHING STANDINGS" Andy opened her arms wide to each side and said,

"Drumline circle of trust! Come on in now, this is us!"

"CLASS AAA, THIRD PLACE- ANTON NORTH HIGH SCHOOL"

"You guys are doing…"

"CLASS AAA, SECOND PLACE- PROVINDICE CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL"

"…A GREAT JOB!"

"CLASS AAA, FIRST PLACE…"

Andy hugged the entire drum line close, her eyes squeezed tight. This was the first time they had ever been in the running for a first, and their nemesis had taken second, which could mean…

"SanBURGIDEN HIGH SCHOOL"

The entire 150 piece band jumped up and screamed as one. Their dreams had been realized, in that one statement.

llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll

Andy clambered back into her seat from the front of the bus.

"Okay, an affirmative on the chaperones being zonked. Those sleeping pills work fast!"

"Bring on the booze, el capitan!"

"Shall we Cuervo?"

"We shall"

And that they did. Turing up the stereo to hide the sounds of the partially drunk to the completely wasted from the younger kids at the front of the bus, they basically threw a dance party. Soon, a panting Andy sat down on the edge of her seat and took a breather.

"Heey…Andy!"

"Whaat?"

"Wanna play truth or dare?"

"Hell yeah!" Andy grinned and asked everyone else if they wanted to play too, then the game of drunk truth or dare had begun.

"Danni, truth or dare?"

"Dare!"

"I dare you to make out with Dan, since he's both drunk and asleep" Danni went over and pressed her lips against Dan's. Dan didn't even open his eyes; he just wrapped his arms around Danni and shoved her against the window. Becky wavered a bit and then turned back towards the group.

"I think she's kind of occupied, so I'll take her turn for her. Chris, truth or dare?"

"Truth"

"Okay, why haven't you had a real girlfriend for three years?"

"Because I'm in love with Andy" Andy swayed and grinned at Chris.

"Sure….."

"Fine, Andy, truth or dare?"

"Dare"

"…I can't think of anything, Jordan, you make one up."

"Give Mr. Bass Five a lap dance" Andy stared at Jordan for a second, and then grabbed Chris's hand.

"It is a dare after all. Just give me some tunes, Mr. Bass Four."

Jordan turned the stereo to AC/DC's "Girl's got Rhythm" and Andy pulled Chris towards the back of the bus with an intoxicated gait. She straddled him and started to gyrate to the beat of the music, grinding her hips against his. Soon, the rest of the group lost interest in the lap dance and began another round of truth or dare, completely oblivious to the moans and the sounds of zippers coming undone now coming from the back of the bus. They only paid attention to a flushed and disheveled Chris when he came back to the main part of their bus spot, covered in a fine film of sweat. But there was one person who had noticed that the lap dance had escalated, and that was Danni, who had finished making out with Dan about five minutes into the dare. The intense workout had burned some of the alcohol off of her mind, but not enough for her to realize that one of her best friends was having drunk sex with a guy that she wasn't in love with at all, in the back of a school bus. As soon as she saw Chris leave the back seat, she moved back to the seat her and Andy had shared, waiting forher to meander back to it also, because they were nearly home. Soon, Andy climbed into the seat next to Danni, radiating an unmistakable scent.

"Almost home, aren't we."

"Yeah. Do you need a ride? You seem kind of wasted."

"Oh, and you're safer to drive then I am?"

"I live closer to the school. Plus, your dad isn't going to call you tonight, because he knew you were at a competition. Why don't you just sleep it off at my house?"

"Good idea."


	7. Chapter 7

Andy stayed at Danni's house for a week and then decided to go home, but she stopped at a drugstore to pick up a few things, mainly a pregnancy test. After driving home from the store, she had parked her car in the driveway, and then went directly to the bathroom, where the test showed positive. After staring at it for a while, she went numbly out to her favorite thinking spot. This was a hammock chair she had hung from the highest sturdy branch of the oak tree in her back yard, which left it hanging about seven feet off the ground.

_I can't believe I did that. I screwed Chris in the back of a bus. Without…anything…what is WRONG with me! I don't even like the guy like that. I suppose me being drunk kind of explains some stuff, but…that doesn't make it right. And now I'm pregnant! I mean, its November now. Will they let me graduate? What will dad say? What will ADAM…oh my god; Adam…I can't let him know! But how can I keep it from him? I can't, unless…it would be so wrong. But it's my only chance. My only chance…_

Then Andy broke into tears, sobbing until she had no tears left, and gently drifted off to sleep. Suddenly, she woke up to a gentle touch on her shoulder.

"Andy? What are you doing up here?"

"Adam!"

"Why are you sleeping all the way up in this tree, babe?"

"Wishing you were here. Oh, and feeling miserable."

"Oh, is it that time of the month again?"

"Adam!" Andy broke down into tears again, catching Adam completely off guard. He cradled her in his arms like he had done so many times before. When she stopped sobbing, he hugged her close, and whispered in her ear.

"I'm going to kiss you now"

llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll

Andy lay snuggled up against Adam underneath a thin cotton sheet, nothing between them but the darkness. Sometimes she wondered how she ended up in these situations, but this…this had been different. This hadn't been rushed, hadn't been drunk, and hadn't been in a cramped space. It had truly been her the first time that any sort of love had been incorporated, and it had been amazing. Gentle but skilled, that's what Adam was. And she knew that he would take care of her and the baby, when she had it. She felt a stirring against her back, realizing that Adam was awake also. His arm stretched around her torso, slipping something onto her left ring finger.

"I guess we'll have to make do with my class ring until you graduate. And let me tell your dad, without you there. I'll explain things."

"Adam, I need to know that you'll love me, no matter what, before we make this commitment."

"Of course I will"

"Then never ever leave me, even if the worst happens."

"Like what?"

"Like…if I got pregnant from tonight. Because it's a dangerous time for us to have made love and odds are…"

"Then I'll marry you after you have the baby, silly. That wouldn't change anything; it would just bring us closer. Now, wear my ring, so all the other boys know you're my property, and I'll handle your dad. What's a good time?"

llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll

After Andy's first checkup a month later, the doctor took both her and Adam to the side to talk.

"Are you sure you want to carry the baby to term, Andy? Most girls at your age would opt for an abortion."

"Oh, no! Adam and I, we were planning to get married after I graduated, even without the baby. I mean, he's got a job teaching private lessons at the schools in the district now, and…well, I'll be home with the baby. But I'm hoping to get a degree in music education once she gets old enough." Adam gave Andy a bemused look.

"She?"

"Or he…or possibly they." Andy gave a slight smirk at Adam's shocked face. She hadn't told him that there was a history of twins on her mother's side.

"They?"

"Yes, they" The doctor interrupted them gently.

"It's far, far too early in the pregnancy to tell right now. But what I really wanted to discuss with you was your future. Do you have your own place?"

"Adam does"

"Good, so…"


	8. Chapter 8

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I CAN'T PLAY THE BASKETBALL GAMES?"

"Andy, honey calm down"

"I'm NOT GOING TO FREAKING CALM DOWN!"

"Honey, it's just the basketball season!"

"Just? JUST?"

"You know you can't put pressure on your abdomen now! You're three months along! And guess what a drum does!"

"What the hell am I supposed to do with myself then!"

"How about focusing on graduating!"

"I have straight A's! Don't EVEN GO there."

"…Have I told you lately how beautiful you are when you're pissed off?"

"I'm going to kill you slowly and painfully in a second"

"I have chocolate!"

"Okay, so maybe not painfully…"

"Promise me you won't try to get Mr. B to let you play at the basketball game, please Andy."

Andy nodded and made a noise that sounded something like yes, considering that coherent speech isn't easy with an entire chocolate bar shoved in your mouth. Then she looked up at her fiancé with shining eyes and held out her arms. Adam leaned down and hugged her and patted her ballooning stomach.

"I love you, you crazy bitch."

Andy just smacked him upside the head with a random drumstick she had found on the floor of their apartment, and then kissed him.

"I love you too, you self-obsessed prick"

llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll

Andy did end up going to the basketball game, but just as an observer. She was greeted happily by all her friends, but certain people avoided her, mainly Chris and Sushi. Suddenly, she was pounced upon by someone from behind.

"ANDY!"

"Tony! I didn't know you were coming!"

"Yeah, I'm here to help out since you're…otherwise disposed. You know you're glowing, right?"

"So I've been told"

"So, who's the daddy? You're getting big… What? Did I ask the wrong question?"

"No, no, it's just that I haven't told too many people yet…"

"Andy, you can trust me. I did help you get a snare spot your freshman year, remember?"

"Yeah, well, it's…" She whispered the rest of the sentence into his ear, and then he grabbed her shoulders and held her away from himself.

"He's a good guy. Have a nice life, and by the way, I love the shirt."

Andy looked down at herself, having forgotten what she was wearing. It was her favorite maternity shirt in the school colors, with "Future bando" Written on the stomach.

"Oh! Haha….Dad got me this for Christmas…like it?

"Oh yeah. Well, go and say hi to everyone else, I'm gong to get the line popcorn."

Andy walked back up to where Becky, Danni and Missy were taking their third period break. They waved and gestured her into a seat next to them on the bleachers. Danni gave her belly a knowing look and said,

"Baby's coming along well then. Have you told him yet?" Becky gave Danni a light tap on the head.

"Of course she has, she's living with him, isn't she? That was just a silly question."

But Danni looked at Andy slyly, then glancing over at Chris, before saying, "Oh, I know…silly, right. Hey, have you heard that a certain two people came out of the closet this week?"

"Really? Who?" Danni leaned in and whispered in Andy's ear.

"NO FREAKING WAY! Are you serious? I would have never thought!"

"Yeah, Jordan just said it right out to his girlfriend when they broke up. He's been with Rich this whole time!"

"Oh my gosh…that's nuts. Speaking of relationships Danni…how's it going with Dan?"

"Oh, my little drummer boy? He's amazing, as usual."

Andy settled back into the comfort of having friends under the buzzing of the yellow lights in the gym. She waved to Mr. B from his spot in the front of the band. He called out to the girls around her,

"Third period's over everyone! Get back here! Small Spyder-one, two, three four!"


	9. Chapter 9

Adam slammed his car door shut after climbing inside. It was seven now, and he had jut finished teaching his last private lesson, a beginner who had no idea what "rushing" meant. He pulled the car out of the school parking lot and pointed it towards home, where his now four month pregnant fiancée was probably working on her homework. Ah, Andy… so amazing…and to think, there would be TWO little monsters running around the world in four more months. He laughed as he remembered the shock that had hit him when he first heard the doctor say that.

He stopped at a Seven Eleven and picked up a dozen red roses, just because, and started driving home. The sky was grey and flat, and it looked like it was going to break loose with snow any time now, characteristic for the beginning of March. He parked in his spot at his apartment complex, studying the roses as he climbed out of the car and began walking to his apartment.

They were full bodied at the base, tapering a little as they neared the top, like they were trying to simulate the look of a woman with child. Both their velvet petals and their gentle but passionate scent reminded him of Andy. They were her perfect flower except for the color. If she were a flower she'd be…

Yellow, he decided as he opened up the door, yellow, the color of sunshine, not red, which was the color of anger, of...

Blood! Why was there blood! And so much of it!

"ANDY!" Adam dropped the flowers as he rushed towards his fiancée, who was lying in a pool of blood. He put his fingers against her wrist, checking for a pulse. It was there, but it was fainter then the strong heartbeat he knew. He whispered, "Hold on…hold on…" as he stumbled towards the phone.

"Hello? My fiancée, she's laying in a pool of blood, there's so much…no, I just got home. Yes, she's alive, but…please, send someone quick, there's just so much blood, and…and she's pregnant. Please hurry." He let out a dry sob and lurched towards Andy again. He reached down for her hand and held it tight. He talked to her, even though she was unconscious, trying to bring her back to him.

"Sir, please stand aside"

The paramedics examined her casually, but carefully, and talked quietly amongst themselves as they placed her on a gurney. Outside, the first flakes of snow had started drifting down, landing onto Andy's closed lashes, making her seem almost angelic in her unnatural sleep. Then one medic with a kind face turned to a forlorn Adam, who had followed them out the door after picking up the slightly bruised roses.

"She'll be just fine. She's lost a lot of blood due to the stab wounds, but nothing fatal was hit in the process. And the baby will be…fine. You coming in the ambulance?"

"Of course" Adam climbed in the back after the kind paramedic and reached to grasp Andy's hand again. Unexpectedly, Andy's eyes fluttered open for a few seconds, taking in her surroundings. Her voice was faint.

"Adam, are the babies okay?"

"The babies are fine. What I'm really worried about right now is you. What happened?"

"Johnny …he…came in with a knife. I guess he followed me home from school…or something."

"Johnny?"

"My…ex…"

"That bastard!"

"Adam, I'm…I'm going back…to sleep now…"

"Oh, yeah…do that." Adam turned, preoccupied to the medic in charge of Andy's IV. "Sir? How would you go about filing a police report?"


	10. Chapter 10

"What do you mean we can't see her!"

The hospital desk attendant looked scornfully at the motley group in front of him. They were a group of high school age boys and girls, with a smothering amount of balloons and a huge card the size of the hospital side tables. One also had a pile of school books.

"Well," He said with a sneer, "We first have to check with the patient that it's alright for you to come in. You never know what…riffraff could come in and try to harm our patients. And at the moment she is rather busy with police Captain Maloney, so I cannot contact her. If you would care to wait in the lobby, I will send a nurse when you are able to be admitted. Thank you."

"Why you son of-!"

"Danni! Come on..." Becky turned back to the desk attendant with a fake smile, "Thank you sir!" and then dragged Danni back into the lobby. The rest followed. They all sat down around the coffee table in the foyer. Becky leaned back in her seat and looked at everyone around her. Danni, immediately to her left, was fuming and seemed to be trying to make the coffee cup in front of her burst into flame by telekinesis. Missy was looking worried about both Danni, and Andy, because she was switching between sending harried looks at the former, and staring blankly out the window. The majority of the boys were doing their best to look indifferent, but two were exceptions.

Chris was sitting with his eyes fixed on the depths of his cup of orange juice, and as Becky watched, she saw a tear fall unnoticed into the cup. Sushi was pacing back and forth, tripping on the same part of the carpet every time he passed it, showing his distraction. And then there was everyone else, who just looked worried. And then there was her…who was basically terrified. All they had heard was what they put on the news, that a local girl had been found lying in a pool of blood on her and her fiancé's apartment floor, and was currently in stable condition. But nobody had said anything about the babies…

After a half hour, a stern looking nurse came into the lobby with eighteen visitor badges.

"You can come in now"

llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll

Andy looked up from the word search she was attempting to do with her left hand and groaned weakly.

"Holy shit. I'm going to die from helium exposure"

Everyone just gave her identical grins and shoved the balloons in a corner. Then they quibbled over chairs to put around the bed, pushing Adam out of his spot on her right side, where he was massaging her hand. Missy took the forcefully dropped hand, Danni took the other side, and Becky won a catfight with Heidi for the last chair and a spot at the foot of the bed. The boys stood against the wall with a disgruntled Adam.

"So, what happened?"

"I brought your homework and a tutoring form"

"Shut up, she's tired, you guys!"

"NO! I want to know what happened! Adam, tell Andy to tell me what happened!"

"Adam, can you give this form to her dad?"

"Adam! You have to tell them to leave her alone!"

Adam just stared at them with flat eyes and went to stare out the window. Andy just gave his retreating back a sad smile. "This has been really hard on him…for a little while the doctors thought the babies weren't going to make it, because I lost too much blood. They're fine now! I'm fine! Just healing!" She smiled weakly at every one around her. It was hard to believe sometimes that she was still in high school for another month, but it was times like this that she felt just like a kid again. Suddenly she felt Missy shift to the side, and she saw Chris in her peripheral vision. He leaned over and put a hand on her stomach.

"They're kicking. I could see it from across the room" Andy looked into his eyes, so unlike Adam's, and a bolt of understanding flitted between them before he pulled away so the girls could take his hand's place on her stomach.

"Oooooh! He's right!"

As Chris walked back across to his spot on the wall, Andy grinned at him, and then winced as someone shifted her shoulder.

"Hey, be careful! A penknife in the shoulder seven times hurts like hell!"

A chorus of 'sorry' came from the people around her, but Andy hardly paid attention because she was watching Chris walk over to Adam with a slightly nervous eye.

"Hey, dude, congratulations. I never got a chance to tell you that."

"Oh…thanks, K."

"I'm also proud of you. I never would have been able to do what you did. You're a great guy."

Adam turned to Chris with the first smile he had given anyone in the past three days. He shook Chris's hand and the both turned back to a beaming Andy, who was swamped in estrogen.

"Hey, menfolk? help?"


	11. Chapter 11

At eight months, Andy was as big as a house. She had taken to placing a drum pad on her stomach and playing all the solos from her music library for hours on end, since she had graduated two months ago. On a day she was doing this, she heard a knock on the door. Cautiously, she stood up and looked through the peephole in the door.

"MISSY!"

"Don't yell! You'll induce labor!"

"Oh, hush you. Come on in, I was just making my children drumming addicts."

"What, making them listen to Grateful Dead records again?"

"No, that's scheduled for Tuesday" Missy laughed and sat down on the couch, picking up the sticks Andy had just been playing with and fiddling with them.

"Andy?"

"Yeah?"

"If…I were to go out with someone that was three years older then me, would that be really wrong?"

"Um, Missy? Look at me. I'm pregnant. Granted, he's only a year older then me, but the concept is still there. Just don't get pregnant, because it makes you have to pee all the time. But who is this person?"

"…Tony…"

"MISSY! That's awesome! Are you going out yet?"

"No, I was planning on asking him to dinner tonight."

"You know what? He's had a crush on you since you held cymbals for him that one time. Even just yesterday, he asked me if you had a boyfriend. Which I know you don't, so…go for it!" She hugged Missy as well as she could with her gigantic abdomen, and then stood up. "Feel free to make yourself something to eat. Adam's out at work, and we have lunchmeat and stuff. Right now I really, really have to pee. When I come back we can shift up the Grateful Dead record listening sessions to this afternoon, and then we can have lunch or something, since I can't have coffee or alcohol."

Missy, with a big smile on her face, set about making salami sandwiches until Andy came waddling out of the bathroom.

"I look like some kind of duck, walking like this."

"Yeah, you do. But that's okay, because you'd make a very sexy duck, with that big chocolate stain on your stomach."

"What? Where?" Andy tried to bend over to see the chocolate stain that was on the bottom of her abdomen, but failed miserably, so she just sat down, exhausted. Taking her sandwich, Andy devoured it in about seven bites. Suddenly, she gasped, bending over at the waist as best she could, her chair becoming soaking wet. Missy's eyes opened wide and she yelled.

"HOLY SHIT! You're having the babies Andy!"

"Really? I guess you were rightabout the yelling inducing labor."

"Oh, shut up and get into my car. What's Adam's cell number?"

llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll

Andy was in excruciating pain, and all she wanted was for it to stop.

"Come on Andy! One more push and the first one will be out!" Andy groaned and pushed against the pressure in her abdomen and suddenly felt a brief release of pressure, followed by a weak wailing.

"Okay, come on, we've got one more to get out of you. Here's another big push!"

"Nooo…..Adam! This is all your freaking fault! Sweet mother of god, get this thing out of me!"

"It's coming Andy. Just push for me again."

A few minutes later, when the next baby was carried off by the nurses to be cleaned, Andy fell back against the cool comfort of her down pillow and closed her eyes as the doctors completed the process.

"Never again."

"Alright, honey. We've got two healthy little girls that will be coming in soon to visit their mommy. Both with a full head of brown hair, from what I could tell."

Soon, two nurses came in bearing identical pink-wrapped bundles. They placed them in Andy's arms, and she held them to her chest.

"Heather, and…Krissy, My little drum-chiclets" Andy gasped as both of the little girls opened their eyes to stare up at the people above them, one with startlingly blue eyes, and the other with deep chocolate brown.

"See that madman up there? He's your daddy!" Adam grinned, and then leaned over the babies, whispering,

"And that beautiful lady up there? She's your mom. Completely nuts, of course, but gorgeous"

"If I wasn't holding our children, I'd smack you silly."

"Pity"


	12. Chapter 12

Andy was sitting on the couch in mid-September both watching TV and breast-feeding Krissy. Adam was out working until about eight tonight, so she had called in reinforcements. There was a knock on the door.

"You have a key, just come in!"

"Hello to you too…Andy?"

"Hey Danni. Have you ever noticed that in these commercials they always try to bribe you into buying their product? Like 'WE'LL DOUBLE YOUR SIZES' I mean, who needs that much hemorrhoid cream, honestly!"

"Andy?"

"I mean, it's just silly. They're actually charging you more for their stuff, you just can't tell because they let you pay in installments."

"ANDY?"

"Yes?"

"Why is Heather sleeping in an upside-down tom drum instead of her crib?"

"She was awake when I put her in there! And Krissy was crying so I decided to feed her, and…and…"

"Shut up now. I'll go put Heather in her crib"

"No! Don't MOVE her. If she were asleep in her crib, would you wake her up to go sleep somewhere else? It just so happens that she LIKES her tom-crib. And I put a blanket in it!"

"All right, fine. But when she wakes up, can I hold her?"

"You can burp this one while I go get us some food. Microwave mozzarella sticks good for you?"

"Yeah" Andy adjusted her clothing and handed off Krissy to Danni with a cloth diaper. As she was punching in the time for the cheese sticks, she heard a disgusted noise from Danni's direction.

"Yeah, Krissy's a spitter. That's what the cloth diaper was for. Go ahead up to my room and change your shirt…umm….just put her in that hammock-looking thing hanging off the set."

"You mean the chopped down cymbal bag?"

"Yeah, that." Danni just shook her head and put a wide-eyed Krissy into the highly padded bag, and went to Andy's room and pulled out one of her old drum line shirts. She came back into the kitchen to see a plate of steaming cheese sticks on the table, and Andy holding Krissy. Andy turned and looked at Danni.

"Can you go get Heather? She's awake." Danni went over to the tom and picked up the squirming baby.

"Hey, Andy? There's something I've been wondering. Heather and Krissy are Chris's kids genetically, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, Heather has these big, gorgeous blue eyes. How can that be, since you and Chris both have brown eyes?"

"Oh gosh, don't you remember freshman year in bio? The dominant, the recessive, the heterozygous, the Punnet squares?"

"NOOOOOO! NOT THE PUNNET SQUARES!"

Both women started laughing as they each tried to grab the same cheese stick, which made them laugh even more. Danni looked breathlessly down at the baby in her arms, who was sleeping again.

"I'll go put her in her crib. Want me to take Krissy also?"

"Sure"

When Danni got back and sat down, she turned to Andy with a serious face.

"I have to pee."

Both women burst out laughing again.

llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll

Adam walked in the door to the sound of hysterical laughter. As he peeked around the doorway, he saw Danni rolling around on the floor, and Andy perched on the back of the couch with a yarn mallet in her hand.

"I TOLD you!"

Adam didn't even ask.


	13. Chapter 13

"Honey, were you expecting mail from the Blue Devils?"

"What?"

"The Blue Devils"

"WHAT? I can't hear you; I'm giving the girls a bath!"

"Oh…" Adam walked into the bathroom of their new mini-condo where a rather frazzled Andy was bathing two slippery two year-olds.

"Blue Devils. Were you expecting mail from them?"

Andy, momentarily distracted from the splashing girls in the bath, turned around with an amazed look on her face. Adam shuffled through the mail again. "Oh, and there's something from the local school district. I'll just leave them…" Suddenly, a rubber duck flew over Andy's head and hit Adam square in the face. Andy finished his sentence for him, turning back around to the tub.

"On the kitchen table, right?"

"Right…"

"Krissy! No throwing things at Daddy!"

It wasn't till much later that night, when both the girls had been put to bed and were sleeping peacefully that Andy thought about the letters. Unfortunately, she was already lying in bed, wrapped in Adam's strong arms when she thought of it. Right now, she was going to take a leaf from her two curly-haired brunette daughters' book and completely zonk out. She was warm, safe, and loved. That was all she had ever wanted.

llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll

Or so she thought until she opened the letters nonchalantly over a breakfast of yogurt. With a full mouth, she stared at the first letter.

"AH-AHM! Iga ayob ath dashool!"

"Swallow and breathe, lovely wife of mine" Adam took a towel and deftly wiped up the cereal from the face of the daughter he was feeding at the moment while the other was toddling around the house with a tom over her head.

"I got a job at the school as an assistant percussion instructor!"

"Did you open the letter from the Blue Devils?"

"Oh, no, I completely forgot about that one. Heather honey, take the drum off your head and go play with your toys."

Andy examined the letter with a vague sort of anticipation, slowly ripping the top open. Her eyes opened until they were completely round, and a noise that was reminiscent of a choked cat came out of her mouth before she fell off her chair.

"Andy!"

"I got accepted to a drum corps…"

"Mommy, what are you doing on the floor?"

Andy started laughing and hugged Heather to her as she sat up. She had finally gotten her life back on track. A job and a continuation of the music she loved so much, two beautiful daughters, a house, and someone to love. That was all a girl could ask for.

llll-llll-llll-llll-llll-llll

"Okay, boys, bear with me for a second." Andy turned to the girls of the drum line with a twinkle in her eyes. "Girls, the only way you're going to learn to march correctly is to find the part of you that holds your femininity, and then lock it up in a dark cabinet for a while. Once you put that drum on, you are no longer the girl in the sexy jeans. You are no longer the seductive vixen with the great hair. You are, in effect, a man with ovaries." Andy turned to their blank faces and laughed. "Just do what I say and march"

The girls strapped on their drums along with the boys and lined up in their parade formation. Andy watched them marching around the same parking lot she had marched around when she was a student here six years ago. Flashbacks of that time ran through her head as she called out to the flawless block.

"Good job, you're dismissed for the day. Remember, tonight's the Line-Girl's-night-out dinner. Boys, Mr. Allain will be taking you bowling Thursday. All the girls who are coming with, I've got room in my truck for…all of you so let's get going."

Andy looked down at the beaming faces of her female students as they sat around her in a shining semi-circle as she spoke to them at her house.

"Girls, there are few moments in your life when you feel more feminine then the split second after you take your drum harness off, and when you have a baby. Always remember that. Remember also, that no matter how much you love a boy, always keep your dreams in sight, because if you don't, you'll end up like me. Not that I regret my life and how I lived it. I mean, how can you regret having an amazing job doing things you love, two children and a loving husband?"

Andy smiled, hugging a sleepy Heather and Krissy to her. "Just know that having a baby before you go to college isn't the best idea. I was lucky that I had an understanding father, and a boyfriend who married me. Not everyone can say that about their family and friends. Just know that your life, no matter what path you take, is under your direction. If you get drunk, that was a choice you make. If you quit band, that's a choice you make. Your life is all choices, and you will make some bad ones. But ultimately, all of you will end up happy if you choose to be. And that…THAT… is the one thing I want to keep with you as you go on with life."

Andy smiled again as she looked up at the eyes that were beaming back at her.

"Hey, do any of you like AC/DC?"


	14. AN's

I know I didn't do any authors notes at all during this story, especially ones that asked you guys to review (sorry). Props to you for doing something nice that nobody asked you to do. It's beyond words how amazing those reviews made me feel, even if I don't know half of you.

This story has gone far from the few chapters I thought I was going to be, into the monster it is. Plus I practically started a cult at my school…seriously guys, starting to dress in black robes and doing human sacrifices is completely unnecessary.

Finally, a little boring information…the general statistics of the story, in MS Word terms.

Total page count: 28

Total word count: 10, 917

Paragraphs: 501

Lines: 974

Total amount of letters(w/o spaces): 48, 582

This is also a page to credit all the people who helped me make this story into what it has become. First and foremost, I'd like to thank Danni, who gave me quite a few plot items (okay, basically a ton of it, verging on all), and constantly prodding me to write more. I LUUUURVE YOOOOOOOOOO!

Second person is Katula, the "real father" of Andy's babies. You're a pal, Chris, what with the volunteering to screw Andy in the back of a bus, and coming up with the idea of making Jordan gay. ROTFLMAO. But, you know, I couldn't make Jon gay, I see him at school too much. So I picked Rich instead. In return, you get this, and you have to protect me when my cult tries to assassinate me for reasons told later in this note.

Third, I give MAJOR props to Jit-chan for naming Heather and Krissy, and I apologize to her the whole "scarring-her-for-life" thing.

More props to Chaos-chan, for continuing to read, even when she didn't want to and also fixing a few minor quips in the plot and grammar. And there's a shout out to my Brain whoosher…you know who you are!

Another shout out goes to…Adam, the real one. I never meant for you to read this story. You were just so much FUN to torture in fiction.

_-Adam: "gentle and skilled", eh?_

_Me: Hey, I'm the author. I can put whatever the hell I want in there._

_Adam: Hey, you got the second part true!_

_Me: That's more then I ever needed to know_

_Adam: Haha-_

Thanks for not killing me Adam.

And den…and den…and den… there's a shout out to all my other rabid readers. I would have totally never gotten this done without you, especially since half of you gave me minor ideas for the plot. Yoko, Wolf, Heart, Soccergirl, Virgo (KELZ!)…Becky (DRUGS AND VODKA), Heidi (sorry you didn't get any actual lines…), Missy (wink God luck hun), Yasmeen, Rachel-baby, Rich (haha), Jon (You're welcome), Krissy (My real life DC), I heart you all.

OH! And I give hugs to those rabid readers who let me use them as characters.

Finally, I don't think I'll be doing a sequel, at least not for a while, because I've got to live up to expectations on my other story that I'm co-writing with my bro. Feel free to read that one too, even if you don't know what Xanth is. I also have an HP fic up. Yeah, feel free to read any of those. But, alas, this story must end for now. And here it is, summed up in my absolute favorite quote from my whole story.

"Girls, there are few moments in your life when you feel more feminine then the split second after you take your drum harness off, and when you have a baby..."

Ryoa


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